Tamir Rice’s Mother Asks Ohio Authorities to Finish Inquiry

The mother of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy who was fatally shot by a Cleveland police officer while playing with a fake pistol, pleaded on Monday for the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department to conclude its monthslong criminal investigation into the matter.

At a news conference in front of a Cleveland courthouse, an emotional Samaria Rice and a team of lawyers for the boy’s family expressed frustration that the investigation was continuing more than five months after her son was shot on Nov. 22. John O’Brien, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman, would not comment Monday when asked when the investigation might be finished.

“In less than a second my son is gone,” Ms. Rice said. “And I want to know how long I’ve got to wait for justice.”

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Family and friends of Tamir Rice, 12, struggle with their loss five months after a Cleveland police officer fatally shot the boy as he played with a toy gun in a park.Published OnApril 22, 2015CreditImage by Brent McDonald/The New York Times

One of the lawyers for the family, Walter Madison, compared the situation to the recent death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore. Mr. Gray and Tamir were both young black males who died after being confronted by the police. Marilyn J. Mosby, the Baltimore state’s attorney, filed charges against six police officers in connection with Mr. Gray’s death on Friday, less than two weeks after his death. The surprisingly swift response was praised by many Baltimoreans, but was criticized by the police as a politicized rush to justice.

“All we want is the same here in Cleveland,” Mr. Madison said. The investigation, he said, was “going slower than molasses in the summertime.”

Protesters nationwide have held up the death of Ms. Rice’s son as one of numerous recent examples of the excessive use of police force against African-Americans.

The 12-year-old was shot by Officer Tim Loehmann after he and his partner, Frank Garmback, responded to what they believed to be an urgent situation unfolding in the park where Tamir was playing with a gun, a Colt pistol replica that shoots plastic pellets.

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A timeline of what happened after Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy, was killed by a police officer in Cleveland in November 2014.Published OnJan. 22, 2015

The officers did not know upon arriving on the scene that a caller to Cleveland’s 911 system had reported that the gun Tamir was holding was “probably fake.”

An orange safety tip on the gun meant to distinguish it from a real gun had either been removed or fallen off. Officer Loehmann shot Tamir within two seconds of arriving in his squad car, raising doubts about police assertions that the boy had been warned to raise his hands three times.

Michael P. Maloney, a lawyer for Officer Garmback, and Henry Hilow, a lawyer for Officer Loehmann, wrote jointly in an email that they were “confident that no charges will be filed” after the investigation. “Our clients are entitled to the fair and deliberative process the law requires,” they wrote on Monday. “This process takes place in the courthouse, not on the street.” Both officers remain employed and on “light duty” status.

Upon the completion of the sheriff’s investigation, the Cuyahoga County prosecutor’s office will review the case and present it to a grand jury, which will decide whether or not to indict the officers, said Joseph F. Frolik, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office.

The Rice family has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the officers and the city, and lawyers for the officers have asked that it be stayed until the criminal investigation is completed.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A12 of the New York edition with the headline: Mother of Cleveland Boy Killed by the Police Urges Speedy Conclusion to Inquiry. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe